HOFer Walker to live out an NHL dream

March 11th, 2020

Baseball legend Larry Walker is about to see a second lifelong dream come true in 2020.

The recently elected Hall of Famer will be an honorary emergency goaltender for the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche in their game Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights, the team announced Tuesday. The Avs will present Walker with a gift prior to faceoff in honor of his upcoming induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Walker, like many Canadians, harbored dreams of becoming a professional hockey player while growing up in British Columbia. His brother, Carey, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, and Larry came up the ranks as a goalie before trying out for the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats and failing to make the cut. Walker switched to baseball after that and signed with MLB’s Montreal Expos as an undrafted free agent in 1984.

Walker will be the second Canadian player and first Rockies player inducted to the Hall of Fame this July in Cooperstown, N.Y.

David Ayres, a 42-year-old emergency backup goalie, made headlines last month when he helped the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over Toronto.